HPV
Experimental ResearchFor my thesis, I studied
HPV (human papillomavirus), a cancer-causing sexually transmitted virus.
Vaccine coverage (i.e. the number of people vaccinated) is low and there are currently no therapeutic options for those living with HPV. Therefore, I studied the virus from two perspectives: how to prevent infection, and how to clear infection. My mind works at the molecular scale, so that’s where I focused my research.
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In this cross section of a single cell, HPV can be seen infiltrating a cellular compartment (light gray), and hijacking a ride into the cell interior (dark gray).
To prevent HPV, I identified a small molecule that could block cellular infection (1). I also genetically engineered cells that HPV can enter but cannot ultimately infect, enabling investigation of the HPV-trafficking pathway in greater detail (2).
To clear HPV, I reactivated immune cells to recognize HPV infection by using a compound that mimics a general feature of a virus (3). Understanding that HPV could deactivate key immune cells led to looking beyond the infected cells and into the microenvironment.
Vaccine coverage (i.e. the number of people vaccinated) is low and there are currently no therapeutic options for those living with HPV. Therefore, I studied the virus from two perspectives: how to prevent infection, and how to clear infection. My mind works at the molecular scale, so that’s where I focused my research.
In this cross section of a single cell, HPV can be seen infiltrating a cellular compartment (light gray), and hijacking a ride into the cell interior (dark gray).
To prevent HPV, I identified a small molecule that could block cellular infection (1). I also genetically engineered cells that HPV can enter but cannot ultimately infect, enabling investigation of the HPV-trafficking pathway in greater detail (2).
To clear HPV, I reactivated immune cells to recognize HPV infection by using a compound that mimics a general feature of a virus (3). Understanding that HPV could deactivate key immune cells led to looking beyond the infected cells and into the microenvironment.
These findings contribute to a foundation of information that can be used to develop new anti-HPV therapeutics, and more broadly, to study how certain cargos move in and out of cells (4).
Most of my work was independently designed and executed, so I focused a lot
of attention on communicating my science to broader audiences. Very quickly, I learned that
design tools (both conceptual and technical) could help me explain complex information,
and more importantly, get others engaged in what I was doing.
By pairing visual elements that explain the experiment with images and graphs of data, I was able to build a story and more easily convey the qualitative meaning behind the quantitative information.
Giving data a backstory: Here, I wanted to know if HPV could disassemble in different cell types, a process required for infection. I treated cells with HPV, then used a green fluorescent probe that recognizes the inside of the virus (left). I took pictures using a microscope (middle) and then quantified the amount of green using image analysis software (right). Less green = Less infection.